Three difficult months in ‘Iraq

Though the build-up of China's blue-water fleet is causing consternation in foreign-policy circles, the country's on-going expansion into Russia and the former Soviet Union has scarcely garnered comment. For the past decade, China has used its foreign reserves to acquire strategic assets (principally infrastructure and natural resources) and tracts of sovereign territory along its existing borders and increasingly further afield. The impact on targeted countries (and, in turn, their own foreign policy) is extreme, with serious implications for security and economics far beyond their borders. This article provides an overview of China's acquisitions and investments in Eurasia, followed by more detailed discussion of recent developments and responses in Central Asia, Ukraine and Mongolia, and Siberia. It then looks at the impact of China's actions on Sino-Russian relations, discusses the importance of Russia and Central Asia as a resource corridor and buffer zone between Europe and China, and suggests how these manoeuvrings might result in long-term benefits for China.     

海峡两岸商业秘密保护与竞业限制实践之比较研究

本文从竞业限制的合理范围、期限、补偿金、违约金、诚信原则等若干方面,对海峡两岸有关商业秘密保护与竞业限制的法律机制、审查标准、司法实践进行了比较研究,希冀为大陆商业秘密保护与竞业限制立法提供参考与借鉴。     

Female family size ideals as population policy objectives for Latin America: Demographic and methodological considerations

This paper discusses the use of female family size ideals in the formulation of population policies in Latin America and the demographic implications of and barriers to the attainment of this objective. Using a specially developed cohort projection model that incorporates contraceptive activity and resource limitations, the authors empirically analyze El Salvador, Mexico and Venezuela.Results indicate that in the next two decades most cohorts of women now in the reproductive ages will experience completed family size at levels that far exceed stated ideal family size. Using data based on optimistic assumptions concerning the effectiveness of family planning services, the authors feel that achieving ideal family size could be possible. Despite the apparent difficulties involved in reducing the high fertility of these populations, the authors conclude that family size ideals as stated by women deserve further attention as a policy alternative.This is a revised version of a paper given at the 1975 Annual Meeting of the Population Association of America, Seattle, Washington, April 1975. Research for this paper was funded by Population Council Grant T73.54.     

Real-time forensic DNA analysis at a crime scene using a portable microchip analyzer

An integrated lab-on-a-chip system has been developed and successfully utilized for real-time forensic short tandem repeat (STR) analysis. The microdevice comprises a 160-nL polymerase chain reaction reactor with an on-chip heater and a temperature sensor for thermal cycling, microvalves for fluidic manipulation, a co-injector for sizing standard injection, and a 7-cm-long separation channel for capillary electrophoretic analysis. A 9-plex autosomal STR typing system consisting of amelogenin and eight combined DNA index system (CODIS) core STR loci has been constructed and optimized for this real-time human identification study. Reproducible STR profiles of control DNA samples are obtained in 2 h and 30 min with ≤0.8 bp allele typing accuracy. The minimal amount of DNA required for a complete DNA profile is 100 copies. To critically evaluate the capabilities of our portable microsystem as well as its compatibility with crime scene investigation processes, real-time STR analyses were carried out at a mock crime scene prepared by the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office (PBSO). Blood stain sample collection, DNA extraction, and STR analyses on the portable microsystem were conducted in the field, and a successful “mock” CODIS hit was generated on the suspect's sample within 6 h. This demonstration of on-site STR analysis establishes the feasibility of real-time DNA typing to identify the contributor of probative biological evidence at a crime scene and for real-time human identification.